“For three days and three nights no manner of food or drink was given to Bahá’u’lláh”

“For three days and three nights,” Nabíl has recorded in his chronicle, “no manner of food or drink was given to Bahá’u’lláh. Rest and sleep were both impossible to Him. The place was infested with vermin, and the stench of that gloomy abode was enough to crush the very spirits of those who were condemned to suffer its horrors.” “Such was the intensity of His suffering that the marks of that cruelty remained imprinted upon His body all the days of His life.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

Eight-year-old ‘Abdu’l-Bha was allowed to see Baha’u’llah while in the Síyáh-Chál

“‘Abdu’l-Bahá,” writes Dr. J.E. Esslemont, “tells how one day He was allowed to enter the prison-yard to see His beloved Father when He came out for His daily exercise. Bahá’u’lláh was terribly altered, so ill He could hardly walk. His hair and beard unkempt, His neck galled and swollen from the pressure of a heavy steel collar, His body bent by the weight of His chains.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím’s marvellous spiritual experience

During the time when the Báb was in Shiraz, one night in a gathering with three of the believers, He turned suddenly to Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím and said: “‘Abdu’l-Karím, are you seeking the Manifestation?” “These words, uttered with calm and extreme gentleness, had a startling effect upon him. He paled at this sudden interrogation and burst into tears. He threw himself at the feet of the Báb in a state of profound agitation. The Báb took him lovingly in His arms, kissed his forehead, and invited him to be seated by His side. In a tone of tender affection, He succeeded in appeasing the tumult of his heart.”

As soon as they had returned home the two other believers enquired of Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím the reason for the extreme agitation which had suddenly seized him in their meeting with the Báb.

“’Hear me,’ he answered; ‘I will relate to you the tale of a strange experience, a tale which I have shared with no one until now.’”

“When I attained the age of maturity, I felt, while I lived in Qazvín, a profound yearning to unravel the mystery of God and to apprehend the nature of His saints and prophets. Nothing short of the acquisition of learning, I realized, could enable me to achieve my goal. I succeeded in obtaining the consent of my father and uncles to the abandonment of my business, and plunged immediately into study and research. I occupied a room in one of the madrisihs [religious schools] of Qazvín, and concentrated my efforts on the acquisition of every available branch of human learning. I often discussed the knowledge which I acquired with my fellow-disciples, and sought by this means to enrich my experience. At night, I would retire to my home, and, in the seclusion of my library, would devote many an hour to undisturbed study. I was so immersed in my labours that I grew indifferent to both sleep and hunger. Within two years I had resolved to master the intricacies of Muslim jurisprudence and theology. I was a faithful attendant at the lectures given by Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím-i-Iravání, who, in those days, ranked as the most outstanding divine of Qazvín. I greatly admired his vast erudition, his piety and virtue. Every night during the period that I was his disciple, I devoted my time to the writing of a treatise which I submitted to him and which he revised with care and interest. He seemed to be greatly pleased with my progress, and often extolled my high attainments. One day, in the presence of his assembled disciples, he declared: ‘The learned and sagacious Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím has qualified himself to expound authoritatively the sacred Scriptures of Islám. He no longer needs to attend either my classes or those of my equals. I shall, please God, celebrate his elevation to the rank of a mujtahid [an authoritative interpreter of the religious law of Islam] on the morning of the coming Friday, and will deliver his certificate to him after the congregational prayer.’

An example of how ‘Abdu’l-Baha refused to be intimated or cheated

The other story surprised me - and enlightened me - very much; I heard it more than once:

Shoghi Effendi said that one day he was driving back from Alexandria to Ramleh with the Master in a rented carriage, accompanied by a Pasha who was going to the Master's house as His guest; when they arrived and got out the Master asked the strapping big coachman how much He owed him the man asked an exorbitant price; 'Abdu'l-Bahá refused to pay it, the man insisted and became abusive to such an extent that he grasped the Master by the sash around His waist and pulled Him roughly back and forth, insisting on this price. Shoghi Effendi said this scene in front of the distinguished guest embarrassed him terribly. he was too small to do anything himself to help the Master and felt horrified and humiliated. No so 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who remained perfectly calm and refused to give in. When the man finally released his hold the Master paid him exactly what He owed him, told him his conduct had forfeited the good tip He had planned to give him, and walked off followed by Shoghi Effendi and the Pasha!

There is no doubt that such things left a lifelong imprint on the Guardian's character, who never allowed himself to be browbeaten or cheated, no matter whether or not this embarrassed or inconvenienced him, and those who were working for him.

- Ruhiyyih Khanum  (‘The Priceless Pearl’)

An example of how man is unable to prevent God from executing His will

During the time that Bahá'u'lláh resided in the house of 'Abbud, His fellow exiles had fully settled down in the city of 'Akká, and most of them were successful in their humble professions. During the governorship of Ahmad Big Tawfiq, they enjoyed relative peace in their work.

But with the arrival of a new Governor, 'Abdu'r-Rahman Pasha, the situation changed. For he proved to be one of the most hostile Governors towards Bahá'u'lláh and His companions. He was very covetous and when his designs to extract money from the company of exiles failed, he submitted an inflammatory report to the authorities in Istanbul. He complained that instead of imprisonment, all the Bahá'ís in 'Akká were free and working. The response from the Sublime Porte -- the office of the Grand Vizir in Istanbul -- was that the edict of the Sultan must be obeyed, that they were prisoners and had no right to work. 

Husayn-i-Ashchi, who was one of Bahá'u'lláh’s sincere followers and would daily go to His house as a cook has given a detailed account of this episode in his memoirs. The following is a summary of his notes: 

When 'Abdu'r-Rahman Pasha received the note from the Sublime Porte condemning the exiles to imprisonment, it boosted his arrogance. He decided to use it as a means of extracting some money for himself... Having failed to do this, one evening he called on Shaykh 'Aliy-i-Miri, the Mufti [1] of 'Akká who was an admirer of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and shared with him his plan of arresting the Bahá'ís in the morning. His plan was to arrest them as they came to open their shops and send them to prison. He also planned to restrict 'Abdu'l-Bahá's freedom of movement in the city. He solicited the support of the Mufti in this plan...

That same night the Mufti went to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, told him the news and strongly urged the Master to bribe the Governor, as otherwise everyone would be arrested in the morning. Disapproving the Mufti's solution, 'Abdu'l-Bahá assured him that God was compassionate and merciful, and that He would leave this matter in the hand of God. He advised him to go home and to rest assured of the outcome.